FORUM OF APC CARETAKER LOCAL GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVES AND WARD CHAIRMEN DECLARE THE SUSPENSION OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL CHAIRMAN AS INVALID AND A NULLITY.
The attention of the the forum of Local and Ward Caretaker Executives has been drawn to the purported suspension of Ijumu Executive Council Chairman, by the Ijumu Caretaker APC Chairman, Secretary, Women Leader and Youth Leader, on whom votes of no confidence were passed recently. We dismiss the purported suspension as baseless, unrealistics and a condemnable act of desperation by a few disgruntled minority Exco members who are bent on destabilising the party for selfish reasons. The nullity of their action is based on the following facts:
1. That four (4) Caretaker Executives cannot take such a serious decision without the consent of the remaining members of the Local Governnment Party Exco, who are in majority. Common sense dictates that four members can not reasonably act in isolation of the remaining twenty three members and expect their decision to be binding. Four (4) out of twenty-seven (27) Local Government Executives and another fifteen (15) ward Chairmen who are automatic members of the Local Government Executive Commitee are in minority and cannot reasonably form a quorum.
2. That Article 21(B)(vi) (a) of the Constitution of APC states that; *”The Ward Executives shall be the adjudicatory body of the first instance over complaints and or allegations from the polling unit level.* In the same vein, subsection (B) (vi) (b) states that; ” *The Local Government Area Executive Committee shall be the adjudicatory body of first instance over complaints and or allegations from the Ward level”* The implication of the above provisions is that the Local Government Executive Committee can not be a Lord unto itself by unconstitutionally arrogating, to itself, the powers of a complainant and a Judge, in their own case. The purported suspension of Alhaji Taufiq Isa from Okoro/Odokoro/Araromi Ward is at best a usurpation of the constitutional powers of the Ward Executive Committee, an action that is an affront to the provisions of APC Constitution, outside the contemplation of the Constitution of APC, ultra vires their positions, a flagrant display of ignorance, a reckless misuse of power and a nullity in words and substance.
3. That the Local Government is an independent body to the Organs of the party. The Local Government Executives Committee lacks the jurisdiction to adjudicate over matters arising from the official operations of Ijumu Local Governnment Area. The four (4) disgruntled Exco members lack the powers to query the Executive Chairmsn of the Local Government Council over its funds which extant rules and law have granted him powers to receive and disburse as appropriate. All Local Governments in Kogi State and indeed the State Government have inbuilt checks and balance and internal control system, including the audit of financial records. The Auditor General of the State has the responsibility to Audit the financial records of Local Government Areas and submits his report to the House of Assembly for appropriate actions. This responsibility has not been deligated to any Executive member of the party at the Local Government level. Till date, no allegations of financial impropriety has been reported against Ijumu Local Government Area or its officers. The allegations of financial management is, at best, from idle hands and rumour mongers who are powered by greed and selfishness.
4. That the Executive Chairman’s official journeys outside Ijumu Local Government Area, at any time, cannot be regarded as truancy. It is a known fact that Alhaji Taufiq Isa is the Executive Chairman of Ijumu Local Government, the Kogi State ALGON Chairman and the National Legal Adviser of ALGON. This appointments require that he performs some official duties outside his primary place of work. Authorised official journeys, by the Executive Chairman, outside the Local Government Area are official and can’t be regarded as truancy. It is necessary to put on records that the Executive Governor of Kogi State is well informed about the activities of the Executive Chairman. Any allegations of truancy against the Executive Chairman in not only callous but a wicked attempt to misrepresent facts. Such an attempt is, surely, in futility and a wasted effort.
5. That the signatories to the purported suspension are major beneficiaries of Hon. Taufiq Isa’s administration/ benevolence and the good work he has been doing. The purported suspension of Alhaji Taufiq Isa by few unauthorised individuals amounts to biting the fingers that fed them. They sing hosanna when they are fed with food and shout crucify him when they are hungry.
6. That we the Forum of Caretaker Local Government Executives and Ward Executives, hereby, pass a *VOTE OF CONFIDENCE* on Hon. Taufiq Isa and reaffirm his leadership of the party in Ijumu Local Government Area.
7. That we are pleased with his leadership style and his developmental efforts.
We therefore implore all party faithfuls to be calm and go about their normal activities as the unauthorised suspension is invalid, of no effect and an imagination that exists in the minds of the authors. It is a calculated attempt to destabilize the party in Ijumu Local Government Area and they have failed, woefully. Their desires are based on ulterior motives and for reasons best known to them.
